Newsletter #2 | December 2025

 

NEWSLETTER #02 | December 2025
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Greetings from the Pennaar Valley!

Balambika Sanctuary and The Vilvam Foundation
would like to thank you all for your generous contributions towards our efforts to protect and promote native seeds and cattle. 

This year the rains were spread more evenly over the South-West and North-East monsoons and our well remained reasonably full through the year unlike last year when we went totally dry in the summer and then had floods in the winter.

This year, we got the paddy cycle started in the month of Aipassi (late October).

The fields are flooded and the nitrogen fixing green manure plants, that were planted a couple of months earlier, are ploughed back into the soil.
Padmanabhan, our bull is refusing to plough, and you can see him standing on the side watching his harem doing all the hard work.

This year, we have sown eleven traditional varieties of rice - Pisini, Karuppu Kavuni, Sempalai, Salem Samba, Kichili Samba, MaappiLai Samba, Thooyamalli, Kappakaar, KuzhiaDichaan, Devaki and VaigunDa 

Seedlings are transplanted from the nursery to the field plots.

Seedlings being sown a foot apart as per the SRI method allows for easy weeding and more space for each plant to grow to its natural shape.

Also in the month of Aipassi, a baby calf was born to Amudha, our resident matriarch.
He was named Nandi Vishaala by Nochur Swami on a visit to the farm. Our first Kangeyam bull.

Like last year, once harvested, you can all expect to taste these rare varieties of rice sometime close to the middle of next year!

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Vegetables at Vilvam
In addition to the 60 native varieties of vegetables we have been growing since last year, we are now specializing in local greens. 

Over ten varieties of keerais (soppu) are being cultivated and harvested in multiple locations by rural women/teams. These greens not only bring much needed iron, calcium, micro-nutrients and fiber to their diets but are also now serving as a source of income. The Vilvam Foundations's program - 'Aththai's with Kaththais' is now shipping greens to communities in Bangalore and Chennai every week!

Hope to see you here this year...
Our community kitchen is up and running !!